Dead Zone
by RENEGADE1357
Summary: Rick isn't the only game in town. A young man is forced to take on the apocalypse alone until he runs into a girl who shows him it's safer to run with a team. But even if it's safer, doesn't mean it's safe
1. Another Day in Paradise

_((The Walking Dead, oh how I love you so. Seriously, who doesn't though? I tried to do a horror story back then but it just wasn't working for me. Hopefully I have better luck with this one. Also, like a couple of my other stories, yours truly will be joining the fight through my own point-of-view. Let's get started, shall we?))_

I woke up in a dark room. At first I was startled but then I remembered I made my way to this abandon house the night before. I stretched my limbs, got off the ground, tore down the sheet that covered the window and took a look at what use to be Atlanta. Damaged builings as far as the eye could see and the undead field the streets. I've been alone since the beginning of the end. That was about a month ago. I was with someone at first but they didn't make it. I grabbed a duffle bag that barely had anything in it and headed out the back door. I had a schedule made out for myself to stay alive for as long as possible. Long story short, keep moving. I'd hit any house for some supplies, leave before I got too comfortable and get settled somewhere before it got too dark so I wouldn't have to wander around blindly. Luckily for me, one of the houses I got to had some clothes in my size. I was sick of wearing the clothes I had on for days on end so this was a blessing for me. I changed into a plain gray T-shirt, dark blue jeans, and a black jacket with fur on the inside. Those clothes were all that house had to offer so I took my leave. This was what I did everyday since I was on my own. I always felt some type of way going into all these houses. People use to live in these places. Families use to sit down together and have dinner. It really gets you thinking about all you've lost once there's nothing left. After hitting a couple more houses I heard gunshots in the distance. I didn't know what to do. It's been so long since I've seen someone who wasn't trying to eat me. I knew the sound would attract the undead so I decided to go incase whoever was doing the shooting needed some help

"Fuck it..." I sighed and headed towards the noise

As expected, the dead were attracted by the noise and had noticed me. I reached on my side and pulled out a hatchet with a red handle. There were no more than 7 corpses so I started swinging my weapon. At the beginning these things seemed impossible to kill but people tend to learn that the only way to put them down are headshots. I got a good grip on my hatchet and started driving it into the rotten skulls of the undead. Blood and brain matter splattered everywhere as I was killing. When I was done, the dead were reduced to their rightful lifeless state. I headed to the spot to where I was pretty sure the shooting came from and ended up in a backyard. A few dead zombies helped prove my theory. I looked around but there was no one in sight

"Where'd you- Ah!" I was hit in the back of the head by something hard and fell down

A woman with short curly hair tried to steal my duffle bag but I grabbed her leg and knocked her down

"Let go of me!" the female demanded

She kicked me in the face causing me to let go of her leg allowing her to get my bag and run off. I wiped the blood from my mouth and got up. I saw her run out of the backyard

"Shit!" I growled picking up my hatchet and running after the girl

The girl ran through the neighborhood dodging the dead and trying to get away form me as fast as possible. She ran around a building only to be suddenly tackled by me. The girl must've hit her head on the fall because she stopped moving. I took back my bag and was about to leave but the dead was starting to gather around. If I left the girl there, she'd undoubtedly be devoured. I couldn't just leave her like that. Any humanity I still had wouldn't let me. I put the girl over my shoulder and ran into a house that I was in before. Since I was there earlier I knew it was empty and safe for the time being. After a while the girl woke up

"Morning" I smirked

She tried to jump at me but I tied up her hands and feet with some wire

"Let me go" she growled

"I'm doing fine, thanks" I deadpanned "How about we start with names? I'm Malik"

"What?" she asked

"I think we have something. Out of everyone you could've attacked, you picked me. I feel special" I smirked

She just lied there with a fire in her eyes

"Okay... We can come back to that. That gunshot. Was that just to lure me out?" I asked

"I was being attacked by the dead... I didn't even know you were here" she answered sitting up right

I nodded "I believe you. Now, how about that name?"

"...Samantha" she hesitated

"Samantha. Can I call you Sam?" I asked

She just sat there

"Sammy?" I shrugged

Still no response

"I'm guessing we're not on a nickname basis yet... That's cool, I get it. Now back to the hitting me thing. I assume it was with this" I said holding up a 45 "Hurt like hell but not enough to knock me out"

"I'm sorry. I just needed supplies" Sam commented

"Ever heard of _please_? I'm not stingy. Plus I haven't seen any living people in forever" I said

"Why didn't you kill me?" Sam asked

"I'm trying not to do that as much as possible" I answered

"Then why didn't you leave me outside? The dead would've killed me. No blood on your hands" Samamtha explained

"No blood on my hands? Are you serious? If I just left you there to be killed by them, that's just as bad as doing it myself"

"Well damn... There is still some good in this word" Sam mumbled

I walked over to the girl with my hatchet in hand

"What are you doing?" Samantha asked getting nervous

I cut the wires restraining the girl "There"

Samantha stood up and rubbed her wrists "Just like that?"

"Just like that. I don't like staying in one spot too long, and I am not carrying you around all day" I said

"Despite me trying to rob you, you kept me alive. So I guess I owe you" Sam smirked "For the record, I woulda left you there"

"Then it's a good thing you suck at knocking someone out" I grinned

The girl was headimg out the door but I stopped her to give her back her gun

"Be careful" I said

She smiled and ran off and I got back to my regular day. I couldn't help but think that I should've stuck with Samantha. But it was okay. I'm better off by myself anyway. I was making my way out of the neighborhood when I was stopped by a couple guys. There were four in all; two in front of me and two in the back

"I sure am running into a lot of people today" I mumbled

"Afternoon" one of the men greeted

"Hey" I replied

"Sorry to cut you off like this but we have something to ask you" he said

"And that is..."

"We're looking for a girl" he explained

"Aren't we all?" I asked

"I'm serious" he grumbled

"Girl... Girl... Let's see, about this tall? Curly hair? Really cute?" I described

"Yeah" the man nodded

"Never heard of her" I shrugged

The men behind me grabbed my shoulders and kicked my legs so I fell to the ground. The obvious leader kneeled next to me and put a gun in my face

"We saw her leave the same house you were in. You see, she stole some stuff from us so we're not the mood for any bullshit. I'm gonna ask once. Where is she?" the man threatened

I shook my head "I really don't know, man"

"Suit yourself" he grinned

 ***BANG***

The man holding the gun in my face fell over from suddenly being shot in the arm. I took advantage of the confusion and hit the men holding me down in the legs with my axe. When they fell back I got up. A few walking corpses wandered into the area and I quickly dropped enough to get away but saved enough to give my attackers something to do. When I tried to make my escape the last man who hadn't been hit put me in a headlock and was trying to stab me. I managed to block his hand before it blade hit me but I was at a clear disadvantage. Samantha ran up and pistol whipped the man in back of the head, rendering him unconscious

I quickly turned around and saw her "Well I'll be damned. You can knock someone out"

"I guess your head is harder than his" Sam smirked "You coming?"

"Hell yes. And thank you" I said running behind her

"For saving your ass?" she asked

"No, for saying my head is harder than someone else's" I replied

We ran a few blocks before making a stop in an alley

"I guess this is your way of paying me back?" I assumed

"You're not as dumb as you look" Sam said

"I look dumb? All this time I thought I looked like a rather intelligent man" I shrugged

Samantha looked me in the eye "You're the straight forward type, aren't you?"

"Is it that obvious?" I smirked

"It didn't seem like you really cared if you died there or not" Sam observed

"A part of me really doesn't..." I confessed

"Then how come you're still alive?" she asked

"Because I made a promise to someone that I'd live as long as I could. You know I have this little saying, even before all this. Anybody or anything in this world can try to kill me... but I won't make it easy" I quoted

"Gotcha. So... I'm cute?" Sam wondered

"What?" I asked

"You said I was cute" Samantha pointed out "Am I or were you just saying that?"

"Well... you're not ugly" I shrugged

"You're something else" Sam said

"Yeah... So what you steal?" I asked

"Excuse me?" she wondered

"Those guys. They said you stole some stuff from them. What was it?" I repeated

"You ask some pretty personal questions" Sam said getting quiet for a moment "Hey... You're alone right?"

"Yeah. So?"

"Come with me" Sam ordered

"Why?" I asked

"Don't want to? You're always free to go back" Samantha said

That obviously didn't sit right with me "Lead the way"

After walking for a short while, I ended up following Samantha into the woods. I didn't know what is was, but something told me I could trust this girl

 _((Well there you go. I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. I have a quick question for everyone reading this. If you were put in the situation where you had to trust someone you didn't know, would you? You don't know them or their intentions. Would you leave it to luck or be on your on? Think about it. Questions, comments, and concerns are expected and accepted. Thanks for reading!))_


	2. Life is Good

_((Quick Recap: Malik met and went with Samantha, another survivor, to who knows where))_

Samantha and I made our way through the woods and into a neighborhood that looked like it was messed up even before the apocalypse

"What a dump" I said

"I use to live here" Samantha mumbled

I looked around and at the girl "I refuse to take back my comment"

Samantha led me behind a house and knocked on a cellar door but there was no response

"What are we doing?" I asked

"Shh" she shushed me

Samantha knocked on the door again. I heard some floor boards creek so someone was there, they just didn't want to open the door

"It's me, open the door" Samantha whispered

The sound of chains could be heard form the other side of the door. The door opened up and a man came into view. He was a big guy with a shave head, a leather jacket and a Beretta M9

"Where have you been?" the man growled

"You know, around" Samantha shrugged

"And who is that?" he asked glaring at me

"A friend. Come on" Samantha demanded

The man let us into the cellar and locked up door behind us with chains and a padlock. I looked around the basement and there were a few people in it, three men and a woman. Despite me not doing anything, I could tell everyone there, excluding Samantha, wanted me gone

I thought it'd be a good idea to get on their good side "I think introductions are in order. I'm-"

I stopped talking when the man who let us inside put a gun in my face

"Scared... I am scared" I gulped

"Why are you here?" he asked

"I don't know myself, man" I replied

Samantha walked over and pushed the gun down "Dad, please"

"Ah..." I nodded

"What?" Samantha's father growled

"Nothing" I said

"Come with me" Samantha pulled me over to a cot over to the side

"Who are these people?" I asked

"Don't worry about it. We're not staying" Samantha said

"Okay" I nodded "Where are we going?"

"Dude, you ask a lot of questions" she sighed

Samantha was clearly looking for something but I wanted to go as soon as possible. Call me crazy, but I didn't think it was a great idea to stay in the room with the person who'd take me out first chance he got. While my new friend was looking around I took the chance to sneak away from the cot. I saw a guy, who looked around my age, more or less, sharpening a machete. He was tall with medium-length brown hair

I walked up to him "Hey"

He just sat there. It was clear he wanted nothing to do with me

Samantha made her way over "I'm gonna have to keep my eye on you, aren't I?"

"Wouldn't hurt" I shrugged

"Mitchell, this is Malik. He helped me. Sort of..." Samantha explained

Mitchell stood up and held out his hand. I smiled and shook his hand

"Nice to meet you" I greeted

"Right. Nothing personal, honestly, but you can't stay here" Mitchell said

"Is it 'cause I'm black?" I asked

Mitchell was clearly uncomfortable by my question. I looked over and saw Samantha chuckling to herself

"I'm serious. It's not that we don't trust you or anything. We're gonna be moving on soon and it's just that we have a system with our provisions. We can't take in everyone else" Mitchell explained

"Relax, man. I get it. I prefer to stay by myself anyway" I said

Samantha looked over and walked to a shelf "There you are"

She picked up a Glock 17 and gave it to me

"You're just giving that to him?" Mitchell asked

"Yeah, you're just giving this to me?" I wondered as well

"Where we're going, you're not gonna get far with just a hatchet" Samantha said

"It's a good hatchet" I shrugged

"And where are you going?" Samantha's father asked walking up

"Who cares?" Samantha sighed

"I do!" he growled

I raised my hand "Me too"

"Excuse us" Samantha's dad pulled his daughter to the side

"Okay, you need to relax" she demanded

"You need to sit down. You disappear for a day, come back with some random stranger, then take off again? This isn't a game, Samantha"

"I know that but I think I can my hands on some weapons. Food too" Samantha explained

"Exactly, you _think_ " he replied

"Fine, I know. And as for him..." Samantha gestured to me "I think he can help us. Look, he already said he's not planning to stick around but that doesn't mean he won't give us a hand. You don't have to be friends with him but don't shoot him"

Samantha's dad stood there for a second considering his options. It took a minute but he finally came back over

"You're not gonna shoot me now, are you?" I gulped

"No" he answered

"Is that like your way of saying you're gonna stab me instead?" I asked

The man sighed "No"

"Oh cool. Well as long as I'm not gonna die... The name's Malik" I smiled

"...Joseph" he hesitated

"Alright you've met and no one died. Come on" Samantha said

"I'm not big on going anywhere 'til I know where" I replied

"Now that we can agree on" Joseph nodded

Samantha gave in and decided to explain herself. She told us that the people who attacked me earlier are held up in a fire station not far form where we were

"I've seen their setup. I know just where, almost, everything is. If we time ourselves right we can sneak in through the back, grab some supplies and be out just before they notice" Samantha smirked

"Well I've gone this long without thinking too far ahead, why start now? Oh yeah, 'cause I can die" I deadpanned

"This can work. Majority of them are out looking for us anyway. If there was a time to hit that place, it's now" she said "I can't promise you won't have to kill anyone though..."

I took the clip out of the gun and made sure it was loaded "...I want half"

"Of everything?" Samantha asked

"Mainly food. You can keep most of the weapons" I said holding out my hand "Deal?"

Samantha shook my hand "I think I can live with that"

"I can't go with you. We have someone here I need to stay with" Joseph said

I put the Glock in the back of my belt "Nothing I can't handle"

"We" Samantha corrected me

"If you can keep up" I smirked

Samantha and I exited the basement and Joseph locked up behind us. We made or way to the street the fire station was on. We stayed far enough away in case if there was anyone on watch they wouldn't see us. The plan was to sneak in through the back so we went through an alley. There were a few corpses walking around the alley so we had to dispose of them. I couldn't use the Glock because that would cause a number of problems I didn't feel like dealing with so I just used my axe while Samantha got to work with her knife. We reached the back of the station and the only thing between us and the door was a man with a AK-47

"That can be a problem" I sighed as we hid ourselves

"That can also be useful. Watch this" Samantha whispered

Samantha kept herself hidden, rustled some bushes and made mean snarling sounds. The man bought the ruse, thinking it was the undead and came towards us. When he got there there was nothing in sight. I snuck up behind him and slammed his head into the ground. After the hit he stopped moving

Samantha put the gun to the side and frisked the man down "Nice"

I looked over the man "You think I did it too hard? He's not moving"

"So?" Samantha shrugged

The man had a knife and an extra magazine on him. I put the gun on my back and the magazine in my pocket

"Look at you getting ready to kill. I'm proud" Samantha smirked

"I really, really, hope it doesn't come to that. But if push comes to shove we'll at least have a fighting chance" I said

"Good idea" Samantha smiled "Okay listen, as soon as we go in we're gonna go down the hallway, take a left and go through the first door on the right. That's where the storage room is. It's where they keep their weapons" Samantha whispered

"How do you know all this?" I asked

"Earlier you asked me why these guys are after me. A few days ago I was an honored guest here. I guess they thought they were gonna get some and invited me in with open arms" Samantha smirked "First chance I got I some of their guns. Like that Glock, it's their's. I almost got more but I had to get outta there quick when I got caught"

"Typical woman. Using your charm to trick men. Glad I'm on your good side. I uhh... I am on your good side, right?" I wondered

Samantha patted my cheek "Ask me that again if we make it out of this alive"

We made sure the cost was clear and snuck through the back door. It was really quiet. We concluded that Samantha's theory about most of them being gone was right. Despite possibly being alone in the building we kept ourselves as hidden in possible as we made our way through the station. We came up to the storage room and looked inside. There weren't a lot of guns but it was still satifying

"Life is good" I grinned

There were some empty bookbags to the side. We grabbed them and started filling them up. The bags weren't all that big and we still had to get the food so we had to carry some of the weapons. We had three bookbags and we filled two of them with guns and magazines. After cleaning out the room we found the kitchen but it was empty

"So these people can shoot up a storm but can't feed themselves?" I groaned

"Dammit..." Samantha sighed

"The hell?" a voice snarled

Samantha and I turned around to a guy holding a AKM. We jumped behind the counter just as the man started firing at us. I gave Samantha the bag of weapons I was holding so she had both

"What are you doing?" she asked

"I told you. Anything can kill me but I won't make it easy" I growled grabbing the AK-47

I peeked around the counter and started firing rapidly. I purposely aimed for the floor and the wall hoping to scare him off. I heard glass shatter and Samantha climbed out the window with our stolen goods

"Come on!" she called out

I saw the shooter had taken cover and I bolted for the window. I threw the the gun out first and jumped out myself. Samantha helped me up and we ran for the alley. We were getting shot at the whole time. The first guy called for help so the people we didn't even know were there starting shooting at us. When we got to the alley I saw the man I knocked out was being eaten by some of the undead

"Damn..." I mumbled

The corpses saw us and came at us

"Malik, they're coming" Samantha announced

"No shit" I replied and readied my hatchet

"Not them. Them" Samantha meant the men running out of the fire station

"Screw this" I growled and started shooting the undead in the skulls with the Glock

Before our chasers could catch up I fired along the ground in the alley with the AK-47 to prevent them from getting too close. Samantha pulled my arm and we took off at full speed. We got back to the house and Joseph let us back in

"Why are you out of breath?" Joseph asked

"We got a problem" I sighed

The sound of gunshot could be heard outside causing everyone to hit the deck

"We know you're in there! Come on out and make this easier!" a voice yelled

I looked over and saw Joseph glaring at me "Son of a bitch..."

 _((Next time, a little luck never hurt anyone. Questions, comments, and concerns are expected and accepted. Thanks for reading!))_


	3. Name of the Game

_((Quick Recap: After Malik met Joseph and Mitchell, two members of Samantha's group, they attempted to steal all of the food and weaponry of the people who attacked them. During the operation, they were attacked once again and had to make a quick getaway with only a few guns. They were followed back to Joseph's location and are currently being held up in the old house's cellar))_

* * *

After what felt like forever, the gunshots finally stopped. Slow footsteps could be heard above our heads. I saw Joseph aim his gun at the door to the basement and when the door opened, Joseph let off three shots. He only ended up hitting the door and I heard the sound of someone laughing and running out of the house

"Guess you didn't hit him" I mumbled

Joseph walked up and quickly aimed his gun at me

I admittedly flinched "Dude, again with that? Is that your answer to everything?"

The man just glared

"Dad, now's not the time for that" Samantha scolded

Joseph growled

"What are you gonna do, shoot him?" Samantha asked

"Sam, please don't encourage him" I pleaded

"Remember, it was my idea to hit 'em where they live. You gonna kill him for that?" Samantha continued

"Seriously, Sam, not helping" I gulped

Samantha slowly pushed the gun down. Joseph growled and walked off. I looked over and saw Mitchell talking to the two men and woman I hadn't met yet. One of the men was on a cot and was panting and sweating. My first assumption was that he might've got bitten but something told me that if he was, they wouldn't keep him here in fear of dying. I remember Joseph saying that he had to stay with someone before Samantha and I left, so I concluded he must've meant him

"Is he okay?" I asked Samantha

"The other day we tried to make a run for it but we ran into a swarm" Samantha said

"Did he get bit?" I worried

"No. On our way back, he got a deep cut on his side and it got infected" Samantha explained

"Will he be alright?" I asked

"I think so. He's not as bad as he was a couple days ago, but... you know..." Samantha sighed

I wanted to go introduce myself but I remembered that there were dangerous people outside. I swallowed my gut and made my way over to Joseph

"What's the plan?" I spoke up

"Excuse me?" he growled

"You hate me, I get it. You're just tryna get your people out of here alive. I ain't the smartest cat but I know a few things. I'm willing to bet you do too. Let me help" I said

"Why?" Joseph glared

"You're the first people I've seen in months who haven't tried to eat me. Call me crazy if I'm not in any rush to leave right away" I shrugged "I'll help you. You make the call. I'll back it, no questions asked"

Joseph stepped up to me and held out his hand "I may just reconsider shooting you"

"Everybody wins" I nodded and shook his hand

After a short while, the man outside announced that if the person who pulled that stunt came out, he'd let everyone else walk. I looked around at everyone, seeing that no one had any intention of doing that. Joseph was clearly trying to think of something as quickly as he could

"I know I just said I'd back your play, but may I make a suggestion?" I asked

"I'm open to anything at this point" Joseph replied

Outside the house our enemies were getting ready to rush the house with the intent of killing everyone inside. They were clearly waiting

"Everyone ready?!" the leader called out

"Hold up!"

All of the men stopped

I walked out the front door with my hands up "You win. It was me, alright? No one else needs to get hurt"

"You realize one of my men died, right?" the man glared

"Yes I do. And that was me too" I spoke

The man got in my face. I just stood there, waiting for him to make a move when he punched me in the face and dragged me to the middle of the street. The men began kicking and punching me. After some time had passed they had finally stopped

I coughed and spit out some blood "I deserved that... We cool..? UGH!"

The leader quickly kicked me in the stomach "No. We're not"

"Noted..! Listen, uhh... I didn't catch your name" I pointed out

"Richard" the man grumbled

"Richard. Listen, man. I get it. You're pissed, you have the right to be. But I swear I didn't mean for that to happen to your guy. It just happened..." I explained

Richard grabbed my collar "Seriously? It just happened?!"

"I'm sorry" I said sincerely

Richard pulled out an AMT AutoMag and aimed it at my head "I bet you are"

Just as Richard was about to pull the trigger, one of his men was shot in the face. The men gasped and scattered. Both Samantha and Joseph had snuck up from the basement onto the top floor and began shooting from the windows. I stayed on the ground and kept my head covered. When I saw an opening to the house I ran as fast as I could. Richard kicked in the door of the house across the street and took cover inside. Unluckily, one of Richard's guys found some cover and began firing an AK-74 at me. Luckily, I had saw him in time and dove through the front door. The street turned into a shoot out. I took out my gun and started shooting from the door but I couldn't get a good shot from my position. I ran up upstairs where the father and daughter were still shooting. When they saw me they stopped and took cover

"You okay?" Samantha frowned

"I'll live" I nodded

"How much longer?" Joseph asked

"Not long, I'm sure" I replied

"He's right" Samantha said, peeking out the window "They're here!"

I looked out the window and saw the the dead starting to gather around

 _ **A FEW MINUTES AGO**_

"I know I just said I'd back your play, but may I make a suggestion?" I asked

"I'm open to anything at this point" Joseph replied

"Give 'em what they want" I suggested

"Me?" Samantha questioned

"No, me. I'll go outside and tell them that I was the one who attacked them. While they're dealing with me, you guys sneak upstairs and shoot from up there" I said

"You can't be serious. They could kill you the second you walk outside" Joseph pointed out

"Yeah they could. Let's hope they don't" I gulped

"You honestly think we can out shoot those pricks?" Samantha asked

"No. But that's not what we're gonna be doing. My job's gonna be getting their attention off you. Your jobs are gonna be ringing dinner bell. The gunshots will attract _them_ and keep our guests busy. When that happens, we run. We run fast and we run far" I explained

"You really think that'll work?" Joseph asked

I shrugged "Depends on how much I've got left"

"How much of what?" Mitchell wondered, entering the conversation

"Luck" I smirked

"Luck?" Samantha repeated, making sure she heard me right

I nodded "Luck. That's the name of the game"

I looked around and saw everyone giving unsure looks

"Let's play" I grinned

 _ **PRESENT**_

As the shootout continued, more and more of the undead gathered around. Some of them found their way towards Richard

"Fuck!" Richard growled and ran farther into the house

I saw some of Richard's men getting torn apart by rotting hands and decomposed teeth as they tried to fight

"Well this was fun but it's time to go" I pointed out

Samantha and Joseph joined me as we bolted downstairs where Mitchell and the other three survivors were waiting by the backdoor. Mitchell had the injured man's arm over his shoulder to keep him up. Without hesitation we left the house. I took the lead and used my hatchet to clear the way of any of the dead that got in our way. Samantha looked back at the house one last time before leaving it behind. After running for a while we stopped by a gas station so we could all catch our breath. Joseph ignored being somewhat tired and kept watch. Our injured friend fell against the wall and almost fell over

"Josh!" the woman gasped

Mitchell and I caught him and helped him sit down so he was comfortable

"Thanks" he said

"No problem man" I smiled "You okay?"

"Just loss my balance for a second. I'll be okay, just need to rest real quick. What was your name again?" Josh said

"Malik" I replied

"I'm Joshua. You can just call me Josh" he greeted

Samantha noticed I had only met Joseph and Mitchell and introduced me to the remaining two people. The last man was known as Paul and the woman was Joshua's sister, Ashley. Paul was a young man, possibly a couple years older than me with scruffy dark-brown hair and was holding an Ithaca 37. Ashley had surprisingly straight, clean looking blonde hair. She didn't have a weapon in her hand but she had the bag of guns on her back

"Now what?" Paul asked

"Shelter. Somewhere to rest. It's gonna be dark soon and we can't be out here when that happens" Joseph concluded

Mitchell and I helped Joshua up and we started walking again

"Where are we going anyway?" Ashley asked

"I don't know yet, but we can't just sit here" Joseph said

As we walked I looked behind us and saw a few of the undead walking in in our direction. There was some distance between us so I didn't worry about it very much

 ***BANG***

The sound of a gunshot forced us to find cover. Samantha, Mitchell, Joshua and I hid behind a large dumpster next to the gas station while Joseph, Paul and Ashley hid on the other side of the street in an alley. I peeked out of my hidng spot and saw one of the dead had been shot and Richard was walking making his way towards us with two other men

"Fuck" I growled

Richard began firing at the dumpster we were hiding behind and pinned us down. I waved my arm at the Joseph's group, signalling them to run. Joseph ignored me as he and Paul tried to get shots off at our enemy but whenever they tried to come out from their hiding spot they'd be shot at. Joseph looked at me as I gave a serious look back at him

"Come on!" Joseph told Paul and Ashley

"What about them?" Paul worried

"We can't do shit from right here. Let's try to go around" Joseph responded

Joseph's group made a run for it as my group stayed covered. We slowly made our way around the dumpster as Richard and his men got closer. Richard saw that Joseph's group had took off so he had one of his men go after them to kill them. Richard and the man that stayed behind split up to corner us off. Just as they thought they had us, Mitchell tackled Richard's goon and I knocked Richard's gun down and punched him. Samantha did her best to get Joshua away. He said he could help but thanks to Richard's gunshots, the dead were beginning to gather around

"Samantha, wait..!" Joshua pleaded

"Shut up, we can't stay here" Samantha replied

Mitchell had pinned down his opponent and repeatedly drove his fist into his face. Mitchell heard snarls coming from behind him and saw three of the dead coming at him. At the last second, Mitchell dove to the side as the undead dropped to their knees and began killing the other man

"No! N-AAAGGHHHH!" the man screamed as he was torn apart, his flesh and organs being devoured

Mitchell put some distance between him and the horrible scene. He was about to rush to my side but was cut off

"Mitchell!" Samantha hollered from down the street

Samantha found a van and had Joshua lie down in the back seat as she hotwired it. Before running, Mitchell tried to get to me one last time. He gripped his machete and started swinging it around to kill the undead. Richard kicked me, causing me to stumble into one of the dead, taking us both down. The creature growled as it tried to dig it's teeth into me. I quickly stood back up and went for Richard again but he was running away from the dead. I turned around just as one of the dead came at me. Luckily I was quick enough to grabbed it's shoulders and keep it's mouth away from me but I was beginning to lose my footing. I looked in the undead man's soulless eyes, rotted snapping teeth and bloody drool. He wanted nothing more than to eat me. There was truly no reasoning left in this being. Any survivor figured that out a long time ago but it was moments like this that comfirmed it. Just as the undead man was about to bite me, Mitchell drove his machete into the back of it's head, saving me. The sudden change in weight caused me to stumble and fall to my knee

"Ugh!" I groaned as Mitchell grabbed my arm and pulled me along "Thanks..!"

"Hurry up!" he growled

Just as we reached the van, I turned back and saw Richard not far behind us, taking aim with his gun

"Fu-" I gasped "Mitchell!"

 ***BANG***

I pushed the man down just as Richard fired his weapon. The bullet pierced the left side of my chest and I fell against the van

"Malik!" Samantha gasped

I was positive I had been shot my but I almost didn't feel anything. Everything got blurry and I collapsed, passing out right after. Richard continued shooting, aiming for the others. Samantha grew furious and jumped out of the driver's seat. In that instant, Samantha took out her gun and fired three times

 ***BANG-BANG-BANG***

Richard was shot in the chest three times and fell back. Instead of dying instantly, he growled and started choking on his own blood

"F-Fuuuck!" Richard growled before the dead caught up to him

Samantha watched as the dead crawled on top of Richard and ate him. She looked at her gun, unsure on how to feel

"Sam!" Mitchell yelled

Samantha came back to reality and gave her attention to the man "Malik..."

"He has a pulse, he's alive" Mitchell told her "Help me out"

The two put me into the van. Sam got into the driver's seat, threw the gun in the passenger seat and drove the vehicle away from the area

"Mitchell?" Samantha worried

"Just drive!" Mitchell demanded

Samantha gripped the steering wheel tighter "Is he-"

"Focus on the road! We gotta find the others!" Mitchell yelled

Mitchell was in the back row of the van, trying to stop my bleeding. He looked on my back and found the exit wound from the bullet

"Where am I even supposed to be looking?" Samantha asked

"They couldn't have gotten far, let's just search the area" Mitchell replied "Don't worry, we'll find them"

Samantha's eyes peeked at her gun "Mitchell, I just..."

"You did what you had to do, just drop it" Mitchell deadpanned

Samantha peeked at me over her shoulder for a quick moment and put her focus back on the road. She drove around the corner to the other side of the alley Joseph's group ran through but there was no sign of them

"Dammit, Dad, where'd you go?" Samantha growled

 ***BANG***

Without warning, a gunshot could be heard not far from our position

"The hell?" Mitchell mumbled

That shot was followed by several more

"Shit..." Samantha frowned "...Dad"

* * *

 _((Next time, trading one probelm for another. Questions, comments and concerns are expected and accepted. Thanks for reading!))_


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